Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl announced Friday that Tyler Smith has been dismissed from the basketball team.

"When we have a situation like this involving our student-athletes, we want to make sure we get as much information as possible before making difficult decisions,” Pearl said. "From the beginning, the student-athletes involved have been accountable, remorseful and cooperative with me. While we are not allowed to discuss specifics, we felt we had enough information at this time to dismiss Tyler Smith from the team. Melvin Goins, Cameron Tatum, and Brian Williams will remain indefinitely suspended."

Smith, Goins, Tatum and Williams were arrested New Year's Day when police found guns and marijuana in their car after a routine traffic stop. It remains unclear whether Goins, Tatum and Williams will be reinstated, and if so, when. But a source close to the program told CBSSports.com that it's reasonable to think at least two of those players will eventually be reinstated, although details about what happened and how it happened are still being gathered.

Tennessee plays No. 1 Kansas on Sunday.

"First, I want to thank the University of Tennessee, the UT Athletic Department and the basketball program for my support here," Smith said in a released statement. "This place is a family for me and I look forward to a long relationship with this team and program as I go on in life. I am truly sorry for my actions in the recent case that everyone is familiar with. From the beginning, I have accepted responsibility for my actions and what I have been charged with, and I am very sorry that my decisions have affected Brian, Cam and Melvin. One day soon I hope I can finish the 12 classes that I need for my degree. My recent actions do not reflect who I am and I can only hope that what I do in the future can make everyone believe in me again."

You could tell how much the arrest of four Tennessee basketball players is wearing on Bruce Pearl during Monday's press conference in which he addressed the Vols' upcoming game with Charlotte. Pearl looked tired and stressed, just as you'd expect. But what stood out to me was the somber tone, particularly from a man who's usually upbeat and ready to joke about anything and everything.

The best moment came when Pearl was talking about how UT will obviously miss Tyler Smith, Cameron Tatum, Brian Williams and Melvin Goins, all of whom were arrested Friday on drug and weapons charges and subsequently suspended from the team. Pearl was lamenting about how short-handed he'll be Wednesday against Charlotte, and then he said, "But we've got weapons. We still have got weapons."

Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl plans to indefinitely suspend all four players who were arrested Friday morning and then gather more details before determining which players, if any, will continue their careers as Vols, a source has told CBSSports.com.

An official announcement should come in the next 48 hours.

Cameron Tatum, Tyler Smith, Melvin Goins and Brian Williams were arrested on drug and weapons charges Friday when the car in which they were riding was caught speeding in Knoxville. Police found a baggy of marijuana in the car. They also discovered guns -- one of which had an altered serial number -- under both the driver's seat and the front passenger's seat.

Tatum is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and having an open container of alcohol. Smith is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of firearm with an altered serial number. Goins is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of marijuana. Williams is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of a firearm with an altered serial number and possession of marijuana.

According to a source, each player refused to claim ownership of the guns, which is why all four are facing gun charges. The reason Smith and Williams got additional charges is because the gun with the altered serial number was under Smith's seat and accessible by either him or Williams, who was seated behind Smith.

Knoxville Police Department spokesman Darrell DeBusk told CBSSports.com the players were in a rental car when arrested. He said it's unclear who rented the car, but that finding out would "be part of the ongoing investigation." This development is of special concern to Tennessee because it could mean NCAA problems if it's determined that the players were using the car in a way that doesn't comply with NCAA regulations about extra benefits.

Tennessee held some sort of awards ceremony Monday night. Best I can tell, it was just like any other awards ceremony put on by any other athletic department ... except for the fact that it featured the head basketball coach rapping with no shirt on.

DETROIT -- Bruce Pearl has reached an agreement in principle to remain at Tennessee.

Details of the agreement are unclear. But the new six-year contract is expected to feature pay increases for Pearl and his asssistants, among other things.

"(UT athletic director) Mike (Hamilton) has been terrifically supportive and committed to making this one of the best jobs in all of college basketball," Pearl said. "I want to ensure the University of Tennessee and its fans that I’m 100 percent committed to this school, this program and our student-athletes.

However, multiple sources told CBSSports.com that Memphis was interested in pursuing Bruce Pearl up until the moment the Tennessee coach agreed to an extension with UT on Thursday night. That's a moot point now, obviously. So Memphis will keep looking for John Calipari's replacement with three ideal candidates -- Mike Anderson (Missouri), Floyd (USC) and Pearl (UT) -- already off the board.

CBSSports.com was the first to report Pearl as a legitimate candidate to replace John Calipari, and multiple sources have since added that if the Memphis boosters approach Pearl with a lucrative deal he would be open to considering a move to the western side of the state. Meantime, The Commercial Appeal has reported that, in addition to Pearl, the Memphis boosters have expressed an interest in trying to lure Pitino from Louisville with a deal that would give him more money than Calipari just took from Kentucky. But an industry source told CBSSports.com that there's "no way in hell" Pitino would move to Memphis, even if the school promised to make Richard Pitino, Rick's son, the designate coach in waiting.

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Just landed and I'm getting ready to head to Rupp Arena, where the Kentucky Wildcats will host No. 18 LSU this afternoon (only on CBS!). Will Billy Gillispie's team play well, well enough to snap the Tigers' nine-game winning streak? I predicted as much in the Friday Look Ahead , and because I'm usually pretty awesome at predicting stuff it's likely to happen.

What can I say?

But either way, Gillispie will leave the arena afterward and head home to relax.

And man, is that some kind of home or what?

The Lexington Herald Leader ran a story on it Friday, complete with a photo gallery. Click this link to check it out, then click this link to compare it to the home of Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl, and then try to tell me being an SEC basketball coach isn't a good profession.